I got a Liberte and am surprised at its handling ability. Not in a bad way, but in a different way. I can't ride with one hand, ride with no hand or ride off the saddle easily. Hopefully I will get the hang of it and be able do them at ease in the future. But since the bike is mainly for my wife and I mentioned about mounting a water bottle carrier to drink on the go, she doesn't think she can even take one hand off to in order to grab the bottle.
I wondering if it has to do with the small lightweight wheel and frame geometry. I've ridden mtn bikes with 20" wheels and can do all those handling techniques with no issue. Althought the wheel is much heavier and wider. Do you have the head tube angle and trail of the bike? Those are usually the parameters that defines a bike's handling speed (along with wheelbase).
Hey there. Just like "full sized" bikes, there are folder for every occasion. And just like full sized bikes, you have recreation bikes and Pro bikes. 😉
You do bring up a good point with your question. We feel that commuters AND casual rider may benefit from a more responsive bike (though that has not always been the case, think beach cruisers!)
But when commuting, with traffic, imagine a car door opening if front of you😫? Riding with traffic? Imagine a casual rider on a crowded trail (and they do get crowded on warm summer days!) Ultimately, it depends on the rider and their comfort level 😉 But the hope is that if a rider has been riding a beach cruiser and switch to a ZiZZO (for example), they get used to the feel of the ZiZZO over the cruiser. Tony